MORE ON THE DEVATAS
If there are still a few doubts about the evolution of Devatas from the Manifest Self of the Non-Manifest Absolute God, then we invite you to read the following passage from Khand II of the Subala Upanishad of Shukla Yajur-Veda. These Devatas were created as Manifest Form or Divine Proofs of Brahman. We have already described that initially they were 5, who later became 7 Devatas or Noorani Rooh or Spirits. These 7 Devatas are responsible for all guidance. It were they who used pious human bodies as offices to guide mankind in various regions and ages all over the globe. We will show later that there was to be a time when these 7 spirits were to descend in 14 bodies around the same time and among the same people. Even then these 14 would have only 7 names and one of them would be a Devi. This particular incident was of great importance in the Divine Eyes and was being prophesied and forecasted from the earliest ages.
As regards to Upanishads, we are banking only on the generally accepted translations. Even then the meanings that we are deriving are so clear that it is possible to find the truth from the existing translations of the Upanishads; this is despite the fact that these translations have been done by those who never understood the true content.
Khanda II Subala Upanishad says that:
The Atma (or the Self of Purusha) is Hiranyajyotis (or golden or effulgent Light) into which all the universe is absorbed. He divided Atma (his Self) into two moieties; out of one moiety, the woman was created; and out of the other, man. Having become a Deva, He created the Devas. Having become a Rishi, He created the Rishis; also He created Yakshas, Rakshasas, Gandharvas, wild and domestic beasts and others such as cows, bulls, mares and horses, she-asses and assess and Visvambhara (the Supporter) and Visvambhara (the earth). Becoming Vaisvanara (fire) at the end (of creation), He burnt up all objects. Then (in dissolution), prithvi was absorbed in apas, apas in agni, agni in vayu, vayu in akas, akas in indriyas (organs), indriyas into tanmatras (rudimentary properties), tanmatras into bhutadi, bhutadi into mahat, mahat into avyakta, avyakta into akshara (the indestructible), akshara into tamas (darkness). And tamas becomes one with the supreme Lord. And then there is neither Sat nor asat, nor Sat-asat. This is the teaching of Nirvana and this is the teaching of the Vedas. Yea, This is the teaching of the Vedas.
Note the sentence: “Having become a Deva, He created the Devas.” This confirms the view of Paingala Upanishad and Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad, which state that there was One Manifest Self which created a Golden Spirit or Noorani Rooh that divided into two to make two similar selfs, which were also similar to the original self. From union of a part of one of the two with the second of the two, two more Devatas were born, making it five. The remaining nine were created successively from the fifth, in succession, thus making a total of 14 Devatas who were made the guardians of the 14 spheres. These 14 beings had the 7 Noorani Roohs using their bodies as their office.
Also note that the Self of the Purusha (Nara) is described as the Atma and there is reference to the Golden Egg as well. We have read about this Egg before in Niralamba Upanishad. We will prove from various Upanishads later that this egg was responsible for the creation of the 14 Devatas, all identical to each other and also identical to the Purusha or Nara, from whom all creation began.
Likewise, Khanda V of the same Subala Upanishad gives a long narration that would seem largely incomprehensible unless you are attentive. It is easy to derive from it that the 14 deities, who were created for each sphere, are mentioned here. The most interesting aspect of this Upanishad is that it describes the 14spheres as existing within our bodies. This shows that the Devatas have a role to play within our bodies as well and confirms the statement of another Upanishad elsewhere which says that the Devatas are guardians of our organs of senses and action. Khanda V of the Subala Upanishad says:
That which joins one place (or centre) with another is the nadis which bind them. The eye is adhyatma (pertaining to the body); the visible objects are adhibhuta (pertaining to the elements) and the sun is adhidaivata (spiritual). The nadis form their bond (or connect them). He who moves in the eye, in the visible, in the sun, in the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
The ear is adhyatma, the audible adhibhuta and dik (the quarters) is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in the near, in the audible, in the quarter, in the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
The nose is adhyatma, the odoriferous adhibhuta, and the Earth is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in the nose, the odoriferous, the earth, in the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
The tongue is adhyatma: the testable adhibhuta, and Varuna is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in the tongue, the testable, Varuna, in the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
The skin is adhyatma, the tangiferous adhibhuta, and the Vayu is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in the skin, the tangiferous, the vayu, in the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
Vak (speech) is adhyatma, that which is acted upon by vak is adhibhuta, and Agni is Adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in vak, that which is acted upon by vak, Agni, the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
The hand is adhyatma, that which can be handled is adhibhuta, and Indra is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in the hand, that which can be handled by it, Indra, the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
The feet is adhyatma, that which is walked upon is adhibhuta, and Vishnu (or Upendra) is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in the feet, that which is walked upon, Vishnu, the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
The anus is adhyatma, the excreta is adhibhuta, and Mrtyu is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves the anus, the excreta, Mrtyu, the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
The genitals are adhyatma, the secretion is adhibhuta, and Prajapati is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in the genitals, secretion, Prajapati, in the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
Manas is adhyatma, the thinkable is adhibhuta, and the moon is Adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in the manas, the thinkable, the moon, in the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
Buddhi is adhyatma, the certainly knowable is adhibhuta, and Brahma is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in buddhi, the certainly knowable, Brahma, in the nadis, in pranas, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
Ahankara is adhyatma, that which is acted upon by ahankara is adhibhuta, and Rudra is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in ahankara, that which is acted upon by ahankara, Rudra, in the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
Chitta is adhyatma, that which is acted upon by chitta (producing fluctuation of thought is adhibhuta, and Kshetrajana is adhidaivata. The nadis bind them. He who moves in chitta, that which is acted upon by chitta, Kshetrajana, in the nadis, in prana, in vijnana, in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else – That is Atma. It is that which should be worshipped. It is without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
He is the knower of all, the Lord of all, the ruler of all, the one latent in all, the one worshipped for the happiness of all, but Himself not worshipping (or seeking) any happiness, the one worshipped by all, the Vedas and other books and to which all this is food, but who does not become the food of another; moreover, the one who, as the eye, is the ordainer of all, the one who as annamaya is Bhutatma; the one who as pranamaya is Indriyatma, the one was manomaya is Sankalpatma, the one who as vijnanamaya is Kalatma, the one who as anandamay is Layatma, is one and not dual. How can it be said to be mortal? How can it be said that there is not immortality in It? It is neither internal prajna nor external prajna nor both, nor Prajnanaghana; it is neither prajna nor not-prajna; it is neither known nor is it to know anything. Thus is the exposition of Nirvana; and thus is the exposition of the Vedas; yea, thus is the exposition of the Vedas.
From this long narration of repetition of nearly the same subject throughout, we knew that this could not have been a useless exercise and there must be some inherent meaning into it. Since most of the words in each paragraph are similar, we concentrated on the dissimilarities and found that this narration too attempts to introduce the names of the 14 constituents of the Paramatma or Divine Self, through which all the rest of the cosmos was created. It is stated that this Paramatma or the Divine Self is to be worshipped, and the 14 Devatas are subseervient to it. This Atma is without death, old age, fear, sorrow or end. And all this is talk of immortality and nirvana; thus confirming that the Devatas have a role to play in our salvation.
You may say that there is no proof that the names mentioned in the aforementioned narration are the names of the Devatas. We too would not have made this claim unless we had a conclusive proof. Adhyaya II of Paingala Upanishad has given the list of deities who control our organs of senses and actions. The list given in the Paingala Upanishad is similar to the 14 names mentioned in the Khanda V of Subala Upanishad, thus confirming that the above description too is that of the Devatas, and their role inside our heart and soul is talked about.
Adhyaya II of the Paingala Upanishad mentions the presiding deities of the organs in the following order:
Dik (the quarters), Vayu, Arka (the sun), Varuna, Ashwini Devas (they are actually two, one of them being Agni), Indra, Upendra, Mrtyu (the God of death), Prajapati, the Moon, Vishnu, the four-faced Brahma and Sambhu (Siva).
The names that appear in the aforementioned narration (Khanda V of Subala Upanishad) too are 14, though it is not mentioned here that they are Devatas, as if people already knew that. The names are as follows:
Sun, dik (the quarters), earth, Varuna, vayu, Vak (speech), Agni, Indra, Vishnu (or Upendra), Mrtyu, Prajapati, Moon, Brahma, Rudra (name of Siva).
The two lists are similar though not exactly identical. Ten of the 14 names are same, and 4 are dissimilar. As regards to the dissimilar names, this is due to the fact that the Devatas were known by several names. For instance, we know that Sambhu and Rudra are the names of Siva, so we can say that the same Deva is meant even when 2 different names are taken. Likewise, we know from our study of various Upanishads that Aswini Devas actually refers to two Devatas, who are brothers. One of them is Agni, which is given separately in the other list. This is the reason why the list that mentions Aswini Devas carry only 13 names, while there are 14 names mentioned in Prasna Upanishad.
Now we are left with Upendra and one of the Aswini Devas from Paingala Upanishad and earth and Vak from Subala Upanishad. On the basis of the similarity of the 12 names and the fact that there is conclusive proof that various appellations of Devatas have been used (as in the case of Sambhu and Rudra for Siva), we are justified in concluding that the aforementioned passage too describes the role of 14 Devatas in creation and sustenance of the world, and also lists their role inside our bodies.
Now that you know that this narration too describes the Devatas, read the aforementioned passage again to see what it has to say. You will find that these deities are pertaining to the spiritual and control various objects of the body, whose functions pertain to the elements. The nadis bind them. And it is they who are in the nadis, in prana (life), in ananda, in the akash of the heart, and within all else. It is they who constitute the Atma (Self). It is they who should be worshipped; they are without old age, death, fear, sorrow, or end.
Thereafter, a long passage describes the Atma; we invite you to read it again so as to know more about it and its constituents. It is these Devatas who are the adhidaivata and hence they are Kshetrajanas (knowers of the field). We request you to keep this derivation in mind while reading the Gita, which has talked about Kshetrajanas on various occasions. Unable to know what does it mean, commentators have given absurd explanations to the term.
Another point that we wish to stress here is the presence of names like Earth, Vayu (air), Agni in the list of 14 deities. Though two, Sky and Water are missing here; it is reason enough to prove that the 5 original elements are actually the name of the 5 deities, created prior to everything else. As regards to the other two, it is very much possible that any other of their appellations might have been used. For instance we know for sure Akash (Sky) is the same as Indra, but we will prove it only later in the BOOK.
Also, the presence of the name Vishnu in the list of 14 should not confuse you. Vishnu truly is the foremost state i.e. the Manifest Self from whom all these 14 Devatas have been created. All 14 together comprise the devatma-sakti that owes its origin to Vishnu [Manifest Self]. If one of the 14 is called Vishnu, that is to indicate its link with Vishnu.
Varaha Upanishad too has given a long narration citing a relationship between Agni, Vayu, etc. with consciousness and atma inside our body. Most of the passages seem non-comprehensible. This is perhaps because the translators, not being aware of the truth, have translated it as per what they had understood. Our view is that this Upanishad too needs to be retranslated in the light of the observations being given by us. What does appear clearly from this Upanishad is that recognition of this Self, that also includes the 14 Devatas, leads to salvation. Moreover, all the sins are burnt up, if a person recognizes their true identity.
Thus all the sins collected together during many crores of births are burnt up.
Also, it is said towards the end that a person who recites this Upanishad becomes a jivanmukta, i.e. gets freedom from rebirth or attains salvation. Gita too has endorsed the same view when it describes wisdom as the knowledge of the relationship between our atma and Paramatma. Now we know that our atma (self) is linked with the Supreme Self (Paramatma) only through these Devatas. This recognition, and not meaningless rituals or oblations, actually lead to salvation or freedom from the cycle of rebirth.
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